Last Modified: Friday, September 13, 2013 at 11:50 p.m.

Southview Middle School will be investigated for a possible outbreak of staph infection, an official with the Alabama Department of Public Health's Bureau of Communicable Diseases said Friday.

The Associated Press

“We define an outbreak as two or more people with similar symptoms who are not part of the same household,” said Nadine Crawford, the state health care-associated infections coordinator.

Staph is a bacteria that commonly exists on people's skin and on surfaces, Crawford said. People become infected when the bacteria gets inside the body through cuts or scratches, or when people put their hands in their mouths or rub their eyes.

Symptoms of staph can show up in five to seven days and include fever, redness at the infection site, swelling and pus drainage.

If not treated early, staph can progress from an infection to necrosis and death, she said.

Several parents of Southview students said they were told by their children Thursday that students at the school were diagnosed with staph infections. They said there was one male student, a football player, who had been coming to school for about two weeks with open sores on his elbows and pus-filled bumps on his arms.

“My daughter came home yesterday and told me that a guy on the football team had it,” said Chavella May, mother of an eighth-grader at Southview. “She said he had been walking around for a while with open sores.”

Casandra Wilder, the mother of two football players at Southview, said the president of the football team's booster club sent a text message to the players' parents at 1:46 p.m. Thursday stating:

“It's come to the attention of the principal and football coach that several boys on the team have impetigo (a contagious skin disease commonly found in kids caused by staph infection or strep, according to MedicineNet.com). There has been three confirmed and doctor-treated cases among the football players. If you receive a phone call from the school nurse, your child is not to return to the school for football practice until he is released by a doctor.

“For those of you who are not contacted by a school nurse, please check your son thoroughly and every crease on your son's body. There will not be football practice tomorrow (Friday) until the locker room and football equipment has been thoroughly cleaned by professionals.”

Parents of students who don't play football said early Friday afternoon that they're upset with the school for not notifying them about the disease.

“My daughter said one of her teachers told her to Clorox her book bag because there's a rash going around,” said Lisa Nalls, the mother of a sixth-grader at Southview. “This is coming from an 11-year-old, but no adult has said anything to us.”

Denver Richardson, the mother of an eighth-grader at Southview, said the only reason she found out is that her daughter sent her a text message Thursday saying several students had been hospitalized due to staph infections.

“What I have an issue with is my daughter has asthma and a real low immune system, and she can catch anything,” Richardson said. “I'm taking a chance sending her to school, and they're not communicating with the parents about what's actually going on, so I have deep concern about it.”

Lesley Bruinton, a spokeswoman for Tuscaloosa City Schools, said that Southview's principal, Tonya Crews, sent all of the school's parents this message late Friday afternoon:

“Good afternoon Parents. I have one brief announcement. On yesterday, there were confirmed reports of two students at Southview Middle School who have been treated for a skin condition. Despite what you be may have heard, I want to confirm for you that these are isolated incidences and precautionary measures have been taken. At this time, no additional cases have been reported or confirmed. School is in full operation. Please feel free to contact the school if you have any questions. Thanks and have a great day.”

A few parents said they are upset with the parent of the student who came to school with the condition.

Gary Quarles, the father of an eighth-grade football player at Southview, said, “That same kid plays on the football team with my son. They tackle each other, drink out of the same water jug. It upsets me because my son could catch this stuff.

“The fact that this kid was coming to school for two weeks with a bandage on his arm, you would think that someone would have asked him what was wrong. Other than that, I don't fault the school. I just can't believe the parents didn't know.”

Quarles said his son was told that he didn't have staph by the school nurse and by a private doctor, but he said he's still concerned about the spread of the infection to other students. Southview played Hillcrest Middle, Rock Quarry Middle and American Christian Academy in football during the past three weeks, and the infected student played in all three games.

“The kid plays defense — cornerback — and he played in every game,” Quarles said. “He was tackling kids, and the infection is on the kid's arm. My son said it looks like he has holes in his arm.”

Wilder said the mother of the student who was infected thought her son had poison ivy.

“Things happen to kids, but you have to be concerned about what your child can give to other kids,” Wilder said. “It wasn't just our children on the football team that were exposed. There are other kids who got it that aren't on the team.”

Wilder said her sons were also given the all-clear by the school nurse and a private doctor. She said the school nurse checked all the football players for staph.

“Why didn't they just close the school down and do a cleaning?” Wilder asked.

Bruinton said the system is doing its best to handle the situation.

“We are working with parents and our student health department to make sure that professional health procedures are followed, and we've contracted with a cleaning company to clean that part of the school,” she said.

Crawford said the best thing people can do to avoid staph infection is to not touch open parts of their bodies, wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and clean all surfaces with chlorine bleach.

“If someone is infected, it can be treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic,” Crawford said. “It's more dangerous for people with weak immune systems because it triggers your immune system to try to fight it, but your white blood cells can't beat it on their own.

“If someone has it, whatever they touch can leave it on that surface, so you have to be very diligent in environmental disinfection.”

Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.

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